View source for Cigarette card

{{Short description|Trading cards included in cigarette packaging}}
{{Redirect|Tobacco card|the Japanese smart card|Taspo}}
[[File:Crow's Breast, Gros Ventres, from the American Indian Chiefs series (N36) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes MET DP838939.jpg|thumb|right|300px|A [[Gros Ventre]] Chief featured on an [[Allen & Ginter]] card, 1888]]

'''Cigarette cards''' are [[trading cards]] issued by [[tobacco industry|tobacco manufacturers]] to stiffen [[cigarette]] packaging and [[nicotine marketing|advertise cigarette brands]].

Between 1875 and the 1940s, cigarette companies often included collectible cards with their packages of cigarettes. Cigarette card sets document popular culture from the turn of the century, often depicting the period's actresses, costumes, and sports, as well as offering insights into mainstream humour and cultural norms.<ref>[https://repository.duke.edu/dc/wdukesons W. Duke, Sons & Co. Advertising Materials, 1880-1910] on Duke University Digital Library</ref>

==History==
[[File:'Daisy' Greville, Countess of Warwick, Player's Cigarettes card, post 1890.jpg|thumb|right|130px|[[Daisy Greville, Countess of Warwick|Daisy Greville]] featured on a Player's card, c. 1890]]
[[File:Walter bull ogden.jpg|thumb|right|130px|English footballer [[Walter Bull]] depicted on an Ogden's card, c. 1906]]
[[File:Walter Smaill, Montreal Wanderers.jpg|thumb|right|130px|[[Walter Smaill]] illustration on an [[Imperial Tobacco Canada]] card, c. 1910]]
[[File:Taddy Clown.jpg|thumb|right|130px|An original Taddy's Clowns and Circus Artistes card]]

Beginning in 1875, cards depicting actresses, [[baseball]] players, [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] chiefs, [[boxing|boxers]], national flags, or wild animals were issued by the U.S.-based [[Allen & Ginter]] tobacco company. These are considered to be some of the first cigarette cards.<ref>{{cite web|last=Shaw |first=James A. |url=http://www.wclynx.com/burntofferings/adsallen_and_ginter.html |title=Allen & Ginter's champions |access-date=2006-06-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060405192229/http://www.wclynx.com/burntofferings/adsallen_and_ginter.html |archive-date=2006-04-05 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Other tobacco companies such as [[Goodwin & Co.]] soon followed suit. They first emerged in the U.S., then the UK, then, eventually, in many other countries.

In the UK, [[W.D. & H.O. Wills]] in 1887 were one of the first companies to include advertising cards with their cigarettes, but it was [[John Player & Sons]] in 1893 that produced one of the first general interest sets 'Castles and Abbeys'.

Thomas Ogden soon followed in 1894 and in 1895, Wills produced their first set 'Ships and Sailors', followed by 'Cricketers' in 1896. In 1906, Ogden's produced a set of [[association football]] cards depicting footballers in their club colours, in one of the first full-colour sets.

Each set of cards typically consisted of 25 or 50 related subjects, but series of over 100 cards per issue are known. Popular themes were 'beauties' (famous actresses, film stars and models), sporters (in the U.S. mainly [[baseball]], in the rest of the world mainly [[association football|football]] and [[cricket]]), nature, military heroes and uniforms, heraldry,<ref>[http://www.ngw.nl/heraldrywiki/index.php?title=Heraldic_tobacco_cards Heraldic cigarette and tobacco cards]</ref> locomotives, and city views.

[[Imperial Tobacco Canada]] manufactured the first [[hockey card|ice hockey cards]] ever for the inaugural [[National Hockey League|NHL]] season. There were a total of 36 cards in the set, each one featured an illustration of a player.<ref>[http://starrcards.com/history-of-hockey-cards/ History of Hockey Cards] on Starr Cards website</ref> After [[World War I]], only one more cigarette set was issued, during 1924–25.

Today, for example, sports and military historians study these cards for details on uniform design.<ref>[http://www.collectionscanada.ca/hockey/024002-2001-e.html?PHPSESSID=rq9jcm5ucr4uim576lt6808ik4 Backcheck: A Hockey Retrospective] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071001083136/http://www.collectionscanada.ca/hockey/024002-2001-e.html?PHPSESSID=rq9jcm5ucr4uim576lt6808ik4 |date=2007-10-01 }} at Library and Archives Canada</ref>

Some very early cigarette cards were printed on [[silk]] which was then attached to a paper backing. They were discontinued in order to save paper during [[World War II]], and never fully reintroduced thereafter.

[[Doral (cigarette)|Doral]], an [[R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company]] brand, started printing cigarette cards in the year 2000. These were the first cigarette cards from a major manufacturer since the 1940s.,<ref>{{cite magazine|url = http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BDW/is_3_42/ai_69277563 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20050719081434/http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BDW/is_3_42/ai_69277563 |url-status = dead |archive-date = 2005-07-19 |title = Doral Revives Collector Cards with Purchase |magazine = [[Brandweek]] |date = 2001-01-15 |access-date = 2006-06-21}}</ref> although the small company Carreras in the UK issued cigarette cards with Turf brand cigarettes for a short period in the 1950s and 1960s, Black Cat brand in 1976.<ref>[http://www.franklyncards.com/one/cighist.htm Franklyn Cards: A brief history of cigarette cards<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070322211542/http://www.franklyncards.com/one/cighist.htm |date=March 22, 2007 }}</ref><ref>Catalogues, for example: Murray Cards (International). Catalogue of Cigarette & Other Trade Cards. 3.ed. (1981)</ref>  Furthermore, card-like coupons with special offers have often been included in cigarette packets over the years.

The first set of "Doral Celebrate America" cards featured the 50 states in two releases, 2000 and 2001. Later themes include American [[festivals]], [[Automobile|cars]], [[national parks]], and 20th century events.

[[Natural American Spirit]], another [[R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company]] brand, also includes cigarette cards on their packs, with information on such things as windpower, diversity, and their farmers.

Philip Morris USA started including "Information For Smokers" cigarette cards in certain packs. One provides information on quitting smoking and the other states that "Light, "Ultra Light", "Mild", "Medium", and "Low Tar" cigarettes are just as harmful as "Full Flavor" ones.

===World record price===
The most valuable cigarette card in the world features [[Honus Wagner]], one of the great names in U.S. baseball at the turn of the 20th century. The [[T206 Honus Wagner]] has repeatedly set records at auction, most recently in 2016 when it sold for $3,120,000.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Cracknell |first1=Ryan |title=World Record $3.12 Million for T206 Honus Wagner Baseball Card |url=https://www.beckett.com/news/world-record-price-for-t206-honus-wagner-baseball-card-3-million-and-counting/ |website=Beckett |access-date=21 March 2020}}</ref> Wagner was a dedicated non-smoker and objected when America's biggest tobacco corporation planned to picture him on a cigarette card without his permission.<ref>{{cite news |last=Davis |first=Ralph S. |title=Wagner A Wonder: One Player In Game Who Is Not Money Mad |url=http://www.explorepahistory.com/~expa/cms/pbfiles/Project1/Scheme40/ExplorePAHistory-a0b9s7-a_514.pdf |format=PDF |work=The Sporting News |date=1912-10-12 |access-date=2007-10-19 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071009110746/http://www.explorepahistory.com/~expa/cms/pbfiles/Project1/Scheme40/ExplorePAHistory-a0b9s7-a_514.pdf |archive-date=2007-10-09 }}</ref> Threats of legal action prevented its release, but a few slipped out, and it was one of these that stunned the collecting world when it was auctioned.

==Other cigarette cards==
Another notable and sought-after set of cards is the untitled series issued by Taddy and known by collectors as "Clowns and Circus Artistes".  While not the rarest cards in existence (there are a number of series in which only one known example remains), they are still very rare and command high prices whenever they come up for auction.

The Mecca cigarette trading card for [[George H. Sutton|George Sutton]] is also notable for it depicts him with hands. Sutton was known as "the handless billiard player"<ref>{{cite news|title=Sutton plays fine billiards; Handless Player's Remarkable Work Against Expert Thomas Gallagher. New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1903/03/17/archives/sutton-plays-fine-billiards-handless-players-remarkable-work.html | work=The New York Times | date=1903-03-17}}</ref> for mastering the game with such a handicap.

Apart from these examples, there are also cigarette cards that do not focus on people, but on cities or flags.
<gallery>
File: Smyrna, from the City Flags series (N6) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes Brands MET DP829236.jpg |Smyrna, from the City Flags series (N6) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes Brands (1887)
File:Big Run Cigarros, Flag of Smyrna (1910).jpg|Flag of Smyrna ([[Izmir]]) pictured on the „Flags of all nations series 150 designs“
File:Bavaria, from Flags of All Nations, Series 2 (N10) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes Brands MET DP841363.jpg|[[Flag of Bavaria]]
</gallery>

==Classification and cataloguing==
The system devised to codify 19th Century American tobacco issues has its origin in the 'American Card Catalog' (ACC), written by Jefferson Burdick. Burdick listed the [[American Tobacco Company|American Tobacco]] cards in one section, broken down by companies that issued the card series and by the types of cards. The 19th Century issues were prefixed with 'N' (N1-N694) and the 20th with 'T'. (T1-T235).<ref>Forbes, R and Mitchell, T, (1999) 'American Tobacco Cards: Price Guide and Checklist', Virginia: Tuff Stuff Books</ref>

===The World Tobacco Index (WTI)===
The World Tobacco Index (WTI), published by the Cartophilic Society of Great Britain (CSGB),<ref>The Cartophilic Society of Great Britain (2000) 'The (New) World Tobacco Issues Index: Part 1', London: The Cartophilic Society of Gt. Britain Ltd.</ref> lists all known tobacco issues from around the world and is still being updated today on reports of new finds. Using a similar alphanumeric system, it assigns a code based on the name of manufacturer, rather than the century in which the cards were issued. For example, Burdick's N2 'Celebrated American Indian Chiefs' by [[Allen & Ginter]] is listed as A400-030 (a), with the larger N42 series listed as A400-030 (b).<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.csgb.co.uk/nnindex.htm |title=Cartophilic Society (CSGB) |access-date=2002-10-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021022024852/http://www.csgb.co.uk/nnindex.htm |archive-date=2002-10-22 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Legacy==
The largest cigarette card collection on record is that of [[Edward Wharton-Tigar]]. His collection, [[bequeathed]] to the [[British Museum]] following his death in 1995, is recognised by the [[Guinness Book of Records]] as the largest collection of its kind. His [[autobiography]], "Burning Bright", details both his obsession with collecting cigarette cards, as well as his business life, which included becoming President of Selection Trust &ndash; at the time, one of the largest mining companies in the world &ndash; as well as his lifelong passion for cricket, which culminated in his presidency of Kent Cricket Club. When asked what others thought of his collecting he said: "If to collect cigarette cards is a sign of eccentricity, how then will posterity judge one who amassed the biggest collection in the world? Frankly, I care not."<ref>Wharton-Tigar, E. (1987) 'Burning Bright: The Autobiography of Edward Wharton-Tigar' London: Metal Bulletin Books, p.254</ref>

He was the president of the Cartophilic Society of Great Britain until his death in 1995.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Georgia Cayvan - cigarette card c 1882.jpg|Actress [[Georgia Cayvan]], c. 1882
File:Bill East cigarette card c1885.jpg|Bill East, English oarsman, c. 1885
File:King Kelly 0554fu.jpg|[[King Kelly]] (Goodwin & Company Cigarettes 1888)
File:Maurice Daly 1888 cigarette card.png|Maurice Daly, US billiards champion, 1888
File:Chief Gall, Hunkpapa Sioux, from the American Indian Chiefs series (N2) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes Brands MET DP828039.jpg|[[Gall (Native American leader)|Chief Gall]] (Allen & Ginter, 1888)
File:Amy Coleridge cigarette card.jpg|[[Amy Coleridge]], before 1900
File:Blanche-Bates-Cigarette-1901.jpg|Actress, [[Blanche Bates]], 1901
File:JDarlingCigCard.jpg|Former Australian cricket captain, [[Joe Darling]], early 1900s
File:Ambrose McConnell, Chicago White Sox, 1911.jpg|[[Amby McConnell|Ambrose McConnell]] (American Tobacco, 1911)
File:Reformer 1911 figurita.jpg|[[Reformer Athletic Club|Reformer A.C.]] of Argentina, Cigarrillos Monterrey, 1911
File:Sprague Cleghorn.jpg|[[Sprague Cleghorn]] (Imperial Tobacco, c. 1911–12)
File:How to Hold Pets - 1.jpg|How to Hold Pets (Ogden's Cigarettes 1903–1917)
File:BoyScoutImagesNYPLABoyScout.jpg|[[Boy Scout]] (Ogden's Cigarettes 1903–1917)
File:Jack Hobens 1910 Cigarette Card.jpg|A 1910 artist's rendition of [[Jack Hobens]] (Mecca cigarettes)
File:GeorgeLowSr.JPG|A 1910 card showing pro golfer [[George Low Sr.]] (Mecca cigarettes)
File:VCAlexanderStewartBurton.jpg|[[Victoria Cross recipient]] [[Alexander Stewart Burton]], c. 1915 (Gallaher Cigarettes)
File:John L. Sullivan1.jpg|[[John L. Sullivan]] (Allen & Ginter's Cigarettes), 1888-1889
File:Richard Tauber, cigarette card.jpg|[[Richard Tauber]], ''Film, stage and radio stars'' (1932)
File:BradmanCigCard.jpg|Australian batsman, [[Donald Bradman]] on a cigarette card distributed during the 1934 [[The Ashes|Ashes]] series
File:CC09 DH Comet.jpg|[[De Havilland DH.88 Comet|de Havilland Comet]] (Player's Cigarettes 1935)
File:George Butler Sutton, billiards player.jpg|[[George H. Sutton]] (Mecca cigarettes)
File:Tommy Weston.jpg|[[Tommy Weston (jockey)|Tommy Weston]], Champion Jockey 1926, by [[Gallaher Group|Gallaher]] Cigarettes 1936
File:Lonsdale colours0001.jpg|[[Hugh Lowther, 5th Earl of Lonsdale|Lord Lonsdale]]'s racing colours by E & W Anstie 1922
File:Shire Highlands Railway locomotive on Lambert & Butler's Cigarettes card.jpg|Shire Highlands Railway, Nyasaland Protectorate locomotive by [[Lambert & Butler]]'s "World's Locomotives"
File:Jerry Abershaw. Pirates and Highwaymen series, Lambert & Butler's Cigarette card.jpg|[[Jerry Abershawe]] from Pirates and Highwaymen series (Lambert & Butler)
File:Ogden's cigarette card of Fred Darling, racehorse trainer with Lord Woolavington's colours 1925.jpg|[[Fred Darling]] and  [[James Buchanan, 1st Baron Woolavington|Lord Woolavington]]'s racing colours from Trainers And Owners Colours by Ogden's 1925
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[Allen & Ginter]]
*[[American Tobacco Company]]
* [[Gallaher Group|Gallaher]]
* [[W.A. & A.C. Churchman]]
* [[Godfrey Phillips India]]
* [[Imperial Tobacco Canada]]
* [[John Player & Sons]]
* [[Lambert & Butler]]
* [[Sniders & Abrahams]]
* [[W.D. & H.O. Wills]]
* [[Trade card]]
* [[Trading card]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Cigarette cards}}
* [http://digital.library.louisville.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/cards/ Leonard Brecher Tobacco & Chewing Gum Card Collection] at the [http://louisville.edu/library/art University of Louisville Art Library]
* [http://www.mycigarettecards.com Cigarette and Trade Card Valuation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130830095627/http://www.mycigarettecards.com/ |date=2013-08-30 }}
*[http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/explore/dgexplore.cfm?topic=all&collection=ABCsofCigaretteCards&col_id=161 Cigarette Cards: ABCs], at the [[New York Public Library|New York Public Library Digital Gallery]]
* [http://www.ngw.nl/heraldrywiki/index.php?title=Heraldic_tobacco_cards Catalogue of heraldic tobacco and trading cards]
*[http://dspace.zsr.wfu.edu/jspui/handle/10339/18464 Duke Tobacco Company Cigarette Cards], at the Z. Smith Reynolds Library, [[Wake Forest University]]
* [http://londoncigarettecard.co.uk/valuing LCCC Valuing Cigarette and Trade Cards] The London Cigarette Card Co. Ltd - The UK's largest supplier of cigarette, Trading cards including sport, military and modern day cards over 50 million in stock .
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110806191145/http://www.csgb.co.uk/  The Cartophilic Society of Great Britain]

{{Cigarettes}}
{{Sports cards}}
{{Non-sports trading cards}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Cigarettes]]
[[Category:Collecting]]
[[Category:Trading cards]]
[[Category:Tobacciana]]
[[Category:Postcards]]